The Gawker blog reports that Larry Wilcox, Ponch's sidekick Jon from the cop show ChiPs, was caught in a sting operation by FBI agents and the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was allegedly seeking kickbacks in exchange for penny-stock manipulation. The heroes from my past continue to fall...

The sale of unregistered penny stock shares spawned three recent securities enforcement actions. First, the SEC and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California filed actions centered on an off-shore boiler room coordinated from Florida. The SEC’s action named John Rizzo...

Microcap stock manipulations continues to be a key area of focus for SEC Enforcement with the filing of two new cases involving the CEOs of two firms of manipulating the share price of their firms. In SEC v. Forum National Investments Ltd., Civil Action No. 5:14-cv-02376 (C.D. Cal. Filed November 18...

Microcap fraud is an on-going enforcement priority of the Commission. In SEC v. Craven, Civil Action No. 15-cv-1820 (S.D.N.Y. Filed March 11, 2015), the Commission brought a manipulation action against a father and son team, David Craven and Alex Craven. Both are British citizens who reside in Switzerland...

Microcap fraud has been a priority of SEC Enforcement since at least the formation of the Microcap Task Force about two years ago. The Commission has brought a series of cases focused largely on pump-and-dump schemes.
Now the Commission has brought an action against three individuals who are alleged...

Microcap fraud is a key part of the broken windows enforcement approach. One of the more significant actions brought in this regard is In the Matter of John Briner, Esq., Adm. Proc. File No. 3-16339 (Jan. 15, 2015). There the Order named as Respondents two attorneys, Mr. Briner and Diane Balmy; two audit...